The renowned Spanish Christmas lottery, El Gordo, brought joy across the country today as 193 Spaniards claimed the top prize of 4 million euros each. Winners included residents from a migrant neighborhood in Madrid and a local basketball club, with the prize being shared among its 700 members, as reported by Spanish broadcaster TVE.
El Gordo is the largest lottery globally, with total prize money of 2.7 billion euros, and it has been organized by the Spanish government since 1812. In the Valencia region, residents also won prizes.
The area suffered severe flooding in late October, resulting in 223 fatalities. In Paiporta, near Valencia, lottery ticket sales were ten times higher this year.
Sisters Mariam and María José Bort, who own a shop in nearby Catarroja, where 25 people died in the floods, sold winning tickets. “We reopened 36 days after the floods.
It was meant to be,” one sister told El País. Participating in El Gordo is a Spanish Christmas tradition, with tickets priced at 200 euros.
Most people buy a décimo, or a tenth of a ticket, winning 400,000 euros if their ticket hits the jackpot. The winning numbers are drawn by schoolchildren who sing them out, with the ceremony starting at 9:00 AM and lasting at least three hours due to numerous smaller prizes being awarded.
Source: NOS